Even Idiots See The Light
by LacytheRomanWerewolf
Summary: Hotch and Emily finally get together with a slight shove from Dave. HP


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Lacy here. So I've written two Criminal Minds stories. One for JJ and Gideon and one for Hotch just after he got served with his divorce papers. Now this one is for Hotch and Emily finally getting together with a slight shove from Rossi. Have fun.

Disclaimer: If I owned the show, I wouldn't have to write this.

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~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Dave sighed and shook his head in frustration as he watched Hotch watch Emily sleep. Hotch's divorce had been final for six months and while the man obviously had feelings for Emily, he had yet to do anything about them. It was starting to drive the whole team nuts. Even Reid could see it and when it came to the personal feelings between his friends the poor kid was just about clueless. Noticing everyone was finally asleep, JJ being last after getting off the phone with Garcia, Dave stood from his seat and moved across from Hotch. Hotch briefly looked away from Emily to acknowledge Dave.

"You're an idiot you know that right?" Dave said.

Hotch's brow shot up and he gave Dave his full attention.

"I'm sorry?" Hotch asked.

Dave laughed with a shake of his head. "You have this beautiful woman who obviously has feelings for you and even though you've been divorced for six months and definitely return her feelings, you've done nothing. I repeat, you are an idiot."

Hotch couldn't deny what his old friend was saying so he just narrowed his eyes at the man.

"You know way too much for your own good." Hotch said.

Dave smirked. "I've been told. So are you ever planning on making a move? Cause really watching her while she sleeps," Dave shook his head. "kinda sad Aaron."

Hotch sighed. "I know but there's no way she can feel the same." In his head, Hotch cursed. As much as he valued Dave's friendship, he got really annoyed with the way the older man could make him say things he wouldn't normally say.

Dave snorted. "Oh right. Hotch at this point the only people who don't know that you both return each other's feelings is the two of you. Reid has even picked up on it."

That surprised Hotch. Reid never noticed things like that. Hotch loved the younger man like a brother but they all knew why he was still single. His habit of spouting off random facts was one reason.

"Are you sure?" Hotch asked, referring to Emily returning his feelings.

Dave nodded. "I'm sure. I know that she got a ride to work this morning so once we land, offer to drive her home. Don't even think about going to your office to work. Drive Emily home and talk. Trust me, you'll like the results."

Hotch looked back at Emily's sleeping face and hoped Dave was right.

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Emily woke up to a gentle hand on her shoulder. She opened her eyes and saw Hotch, kneeled down next to her.

"We're landing in a few minutes." Hotch said in a soft voice Emily had only heard on a few rare occasions.

Emily nodded and started to sit correctly in her chair. Hotch sat down beside her as the plane began to descend.

"So I heard you got a ride to work this morning." Hotch said, his tone still soft.

"Yeah my car decided it didn't want to start so I called Garcia." Emily said.

Hotch nodded. "Is she giving you a lift home?"

Emily bit her lip. "I hadn't asked yet."

"How about I drive you?" Hotch recommended.

Emily was surprised by Hotch's offer but found herself nodding. "Yeah sure."

The plane landed and everyone filed off. Climbing into the SUVs that would take them back to their cars, no one talked. They were all too tired from the case. Emily found herself surprised again when instead of driving, Hotch climbed into the back of one of the SUVs with her. Hotch noticed Emily's eyes drooping again and nudged her with his shoulder, indicating she could rest on him. Dave, who was driving, smiled as he watched in the mirror and Emily closed her eyes and let herself lean comfortably against Hotch's side. Dave caught Hotch's eye and gave the younger man a nod. Hotch gave a small smile and nod of his own.

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Dave pulled the SUV into the FBI garage and put the vehicle into park. Taking off his seat belt, Dave turned to look at the two in the back seat. Emily was sound asleep on Hotch's shoulder and Hotch was watching her with a peaceful look on his face.

"What do you want to do?" Dave asked quietly, referring to Emily.

Hotch looked at Dave. "I hate to wake her."

Dave nodded. "Then I'll get the doors and you carry her to your car."

Hotch nodded as well and carefully took off Emily's seat belt along with his own while Dave climbed out and opened the back door. Sliding slowly out of the car, Hotch brought Emily with him and once she was on the edge of the seat, he lifted her effortlessly into his arms. Dave smiled.

"She's either really light or you're a lot stronger then I thought." he said.

Hotch smiled. "Let's say a little of both. You always did underestimate me when it came to strength."

Dave laughed quietly. "What can I say? It's the suits."

Hotch shook his head and with Emily tucked safely in his arms, led Dave over to his own SUV. Having given Dave the keys, Hotch waited for the other man to unlock the truck and open the passenger door. Once Dave had it open, Hotch moved forward and carefully transferred Emily into the seat and put her seat belt on. He closed the door and turned to take his keys from Dave. He found the older man studying him.

"What?" Hotch asked.

"I was gonna say good luck." Dave said. "But watching you, I realize, you don't need it."

Hotch shook Dave's hand. "We'll see you at the office tomorrow."

Dave nodded and headed off for his own car. Hotch walked around his truck and climbed into the driver's seat.

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Emily woke up as she felt the vehicle come to a stop. She opened her eyes and was confused to find herself in the front passenger's seat.

"Hey you're awake."

Emily turned her head and saw Hotch smiling at her.

"Where are we?" Emily asked.

"In my car on our way to your apartment." Hotch said. Guessing Emily's next question, he went on. "You feel asleep on the way from the airport so instead of waking you, I carried you to my car. Dave was nice enough to handle the doors."

Emily nodded and sat up straight in her seat. "Thanks, I guess I was more tired then I thought."

"No need to thank me." Hotch said. He thought about what Dave said on the plane for a moment. "Hey I know you're tired but when we get to your place, can I come up for a minute? I have something I'd like to talk to you about."

Emily heard a tone in Hotch's voice she hadn't heard before. "I have no problem with that. Is everything ok?"

Hotch nodded. "Yeah everything's fine."

Emily took his answer and rested her head back as they drove in silence the rest of the way to her place. They arrived and made their way up to Emily's apartment. Hotch stood back as Emily unlocked the door and let him inside.

"Can I get you anything?" Emily asked.

Hotch shook his head as he closed and locked the door. Something they all did. Feeling safe in their own homes was something they needed.

Emily nodded. "Alright well make yourself at home, I'm gonna go change real quick."

Hotch watched Emily head upstairs and with his hands in his pockets, he walked around the living room, taking things in like he was unable to do last time he was there, asking her to come to Milwaukee with him.

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Emily was lost in thought as she changed out of her work suit into jeans and a long sleeve shirt. She was trying to figure out what Hotch would want to talk about that couldn't be said in the office or when they were on the plane. Sighing as she came up with nothing, she made her way downstairs and stopped to watch Hotch move around her living room. She thought back to the last time he was there. It seemed like a life time ago. Back then, she wasn't sure he liked her let alone trusted her and now she considered him along with Dave to be two of her closest friends.

"Gonna stand there all night?" Hotch asked, looking at Emily over his shoulder with a smile.

Emily laughed and shook her head as she made her way to Hotch's side. "No I wasn't going to stand there all night. Just taking a chance to watch you relaxed for once."

Hotch tried to look offended. "I relax." At Emily's raised brow, Hotch cleared his throat. "So you're probably wondering what I want to talk about."

Emily nodded as they moved to the couch. "It crossed my mind yeah."

Emily sat with one leg curled under her and the other leg bent up so she could rest her arm and chin on it. Hotch sat next to her and turned so he could see her, one leg bending ninety degrees as he did.

"I had a talk with Dave on the plane." Hotch started.

Emily smirked. "Yeah cause that always ends well."

Hotch chuckled. "I know but actually this time it did."

"So what did you talk about?" Emily asked.

Hotch leaned against the back of the couch. "He actually started off by calling me an idiot."

This had Emily surprised. "Really?"

Hotch nodded. "Yeah I was surprised as well."

"Did he give a reason for calling you an idiot?" Emily asked.

"He did." Hotch said. He wasn't sure how to approach this but figured straight to the point would be the best. "He pointed out that even though my divorce has been final for six months, I haven't..."

Emily was a bit stunned. It wasn't often she saw Hotch grasping for words. She thought for a moment on what Dave could have pointed out to Hotch when it hit her. He pointed out the same thing to her before their last case. That Hotch had been divorced for six months yet neither of them did anything about their feelings.

"I think I know what Dave said to you." Emily finally said.

Hotch met her gaze. "Really?"

Emily nodded. "If I'm guessing right he said the same thing to me before our last case." she cleared her throat. "Did it have something to do with feeling between us that we have yet to do anything about?"

Hotch smiled. He should have known Dave wouldn't talk to just one of them. "Yeah that's it."

Emily huffed. "You think the man would let us do things ourselves."

Hotch smirked and took one of Emily's hand in his own. "Six months Emily. I think we needed a little shove."

Emily nodded her head, tipping from side to side as she did. "Alright you may have a point there." she watched Hotch trace the veins that were barely visible on the back of her hand. "So what now?"

Hotch didn't look up as he spoke. "I've got a divorce that proves I'm bad with relationships."

Emily used her free hand to lift Hotch's chin so he would look at her. "And I've got a long list of dirtbag exes that prove neither am I but maybe we can make this work. We both see the same thing every day so there's nothing to hide."

Hotch thought about what Emily said. She was right because they worked together they wouldn't need to hide the horror they saw from each other. But that was also another problem.

"We work together." Hotch said.

Emily let Hotch turn her hand over. "We do but we wouldn't be the first relationship in the Bureau. I know it might look worse cause you're my supervisor but if we really want this Aaron, then maybe it's worth the risk."

Hotch was thrown slightly by Emily's use of his first name. She didn't use it very often. Even when she spent time outside work with him and Dave. Emily bent her head down to meet Hotch's eyes.

"So the only real question is, is this worth it?" Emily said.

Without a second thought, Hotch answered.

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Morgan sat between Garcia and Reid as the whole team waited for Hotch and Emily to show.

"Did they say why they were calling this gathering?" Garcia asked Dave.

Dave shook his head. "Nope Hotch just called this morning and asked me to call all of you." In truth Dave had some idea but he wasn't about to spoil Hotch and Emily's moment.

Morgan sipped his beer and then preceded to almost spit it all over the table.

"Are you ok Morgan?" JJ asked.

As he wiped his mouth, he pointed at the bar entrance. The others turned and were shocked to see Hotch and Emily sharing a very intimate kiss before making their way over. They both smiled as they saw everyone's faces.

"Well I guess we don't have to say anything." Emily said.

"Ha!" Garcia laughed. "Guess again Agent Prentiss. Both of you sit and start explaining."

Hotch and Emily laughed before taking the two remaining seats.

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

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Well that took longer to write then I planned but I was studying the characters as I wrote so that might explain it. Let me know what you think, flame policy stands and thanks for reading.

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Sarah here! GREAT JOB!! *claps* Now I'm off to edit some more! YAY! *clapclap* Kisses~Sarah


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